PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (IDC) Tuskegee University Center for Biomedical Research (CBR) Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) proposes the Investigator Development Core (IDC) to provide junior-level and transitional investigators at Tuskegee University (TU) with the necessary resources and training to assist them in their move to the status of independent researchers focused on minority health and health disparities. The IDC is intended to support primarily: 1) faculty members who are already in the field of biomedical research but, because of their junior status, require a period of mentored career development in order to become independent scientists in the fields of minority health and health disparities research; 2) Those who have an established career in either a non-biomedical field or a biomedical field in an area not directly linked to minority health but now desire to move into biomedical research or who want to include minority health and health disparities, or the translation of it, in their research. Specifically, the IDC aims to: 1) Provide funding for developmental pilot research projects that demonstrate the potential for becoming independent, fundable R-series or equivalent proposals following their completion; 2) Provide pilot-level funding to traditionally non-biomedical, innovative research approaches that address minority health and health disparities; 3) Provide and coordinate senior-level mentorship and research training and career developmental activities for junior-level investigators who receive funding for Center for Biomedical Research (CBR)/RCMI pilot research projects. To achieve these aims, the IDC will integrate its efforts with the infrastructure core, the community engagement core, our existing extramural collaborative networks and the CBR program evaluation system. The IDC support is expected to advance the professional growth of junior faculty at TU by enhancing their productivity, competitiveness and potential to be established researchers on diseases that disproportionately impact minority populations.